Indian Railways has announced a series of reforms to improve the ticket booking and travel experience for passengers.
These changes were reviewed recently by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who emphasised the need for a ticketing system that is smart, transparent, accessible, and efficient.
The changes in the ticket booking system focus on enhancing passenger convenience and ensuring a smooth travel experience.
One of the key changes proposed is the advancement of reservation chart preparation. Currently, reservation charts are prepared four hours before train departure, leading to uncertainty for passengers—especially those traveling from nearby or remote areas. To address this, the Railway Board has proposed preparing reservation charts eight hours before departure.
For trains departing before 2:00 pm, charts will now be prepared by 9:00 pm the previous day. The minister has approved this proposal and directed phased implementation to ensure smooth transition.
This move is expected to benefit passengers holding waitlisted tickets, giving them earlier updates on their ticket status and allowing more time for alternative travel arrangements if needed.
Moreover, the minister reviewed progress on the ongoing upgradation of the Passenger Reservation System (PRS), a project being carried out by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS).
The upgraded PRS is designed to be agile, flexible, and scalable, capable of handling ten times the current capacity. Once it implemented, the system will support up to 1.5 lakh ticket bookings per minute, a fivefold increase from the current 32,000 tickets per minute. Similarly, ticket enquiry capacity will rise from 4 lakh to over 40 lakh per minute.
The new PRS will feature a multilingual, user-friendly interface and offer enhanced options such as seat selection and fare calendar. It will also integrate facilities for persons with disabilities (divyangjan), students, and patients, ensuring inclusive access for all.
As part of further modernisation, the government will implement improved authentication measures for Tatkal bookings.
Starting July 1, 2025, only authenticated users will be allowed to book Tatkal tickets on the IRCTC website and mobile app.
From the end of July 2025, OTP-based verification will be mandatory for these bookings. The authentication process will use Aadhaar or any other verifiable government-issued ID available in the user’s DigiLocker account.
